People in Guangdong are experiencing the "four seasons of the week", especially the sharp drop in temperature on weekends, which has made many people feel "bad". Friends with chronic gastrointestinal diseases usually experience stomach pain, bloating, abdominal pain, acid reflux, diarrhea, etc., and may even go to the emergency room due to gastrointestinal bleeding. Why are digestive tract diseases afraid of cold? How to start the “stomach-protecting battle” when it’s freezing cold? Professor Liu Fengbin from the Department of Spleen and Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, gave the answer.
Cold weather can cause gastrointestinal mucosal vasoconstriction
Liu Fengbin said that urban people have a high incidence of digestive tract diseases, including gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers, due to irregular diet, high work pressure, and mental stress. Most patients usually have no obvious discomfort, but when the weather suddenly turns cold in winter, digestive system diseases are likely to relapse or worsen, and even bleeding may occur.
This is because lower temperatures can easily stimulate sympathetic nerve excitement in the body, causing vasoconstriction of the gastrointestinal mucosa, causing mucosal ischemia and hypoxia. At this time, the patient will present with upper abdominal fullness, coldness or pain in the epigastrium, acid reflux, and heartburn. Once the ulcer invades the capillaries of the gastric wall, it may cause bleeding (massive bleeding or chronic bleeding).
"Common symptoms of gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer bleeding include melena, dizziness, fatigue, pale face, vomiting blood, cold sweats, decreased blood pressure, etc." Liu Fengbin reminded that if the above symptoms occur, you must seek medical treatment in time, otherwise, As the amount of bleeding increases, it may cause shock and even be life-threatening.
People with a hot constitution are prone to gastrointestinal bleeding if they are too warm and tonic.
It is said that "where people gather around the stove to cook and cheer, all kinds of flavors melt into the small cauldron." Hot pot, mutton soup, and shabu-shabu are indispensable rituals for a warm winter. Cantonese people also I like to cook a warm medicinal meal using ginseng, astragalus and other nourishing herbs for the whole family to enjoy. Can patients with digestive tract diseases still enjoy these delicacies?
Liu Fengbin reminded that many winter delicacies have warming and tonic effects. For people with a naturally hot body, heat may accumulate in them, which may lead to blood heat. The evil behavior of blood heat can easily damage the stomach collaterals. This also means an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. Therefore, he reminded that people with digestive tract diseases must take appropriate supplements in winter.
How should people with digestive tract diseases take good care of their health in winter? Liu Fengbin suggested that first of all, you should pay attention to keeping warm, avoid catching cold in the abdomen, and avoid eating raw and cold foods to consume Yang Qi, which can cause stomach pain and bloating. Secondly, avoid eating foods that are indigestible, too sour, too sweet, or too much meat to avoid indigestion. Third, winter dietary therapy must be targeted according to your own physique. People with weak constitutions are better off eating some relatively neutral foods, such as yam, gorgon fruit, and lily. Among them, yam can nourish yin and strengthen the spleen, and is especially suitable for consumption in winter. People who are prone to dry mouth at ordinary times can eat some dendrobium, Imperata cognac root, Polygonatum odorifera, American ginseng, etc. People who usually have severe dampness and heat, are prone to dry mouth, bitter taste, difficulty in defecation, and yellow and greasy tongue coating can add some heat-clearing and damp-removing ingredients when making soup, such as Xihuangcao, Mianyinchen, Fotanmu, etc. People who are prone to cold hands and feet and insufficient yang energy can eat some angelica, ginger and mutton soup to warm them up.
Text | Reporter Chen Hui Correspondent Liu Yiting Picture | Yangcheng Evening News Information Picture
Editor: Liu Xinyu
[Source: Jinyang.com]
